World's quickest street-legal e-car--a 1972 Datsun?

We've given a lot of pixels to electric cars recently, especially the hot Tesla Roadster. But there's one electric car that can dust the Tesla and all the others off the line. It's a 1972 Datsun.

Meet the White Zombie from Plasma Boy Racing. John Wayland of Portland, Ore., made the unassuming small car in his garage as a project, and now the custom-made electric powerhouse is taking the drag strips by storm. In the video above, it toasts a bad-ass-looking Corvette, much to the 'vette owner's chagrin.

We're not sure how practical a car like this would be, as it has to be recharged after each heat, but man it looks like it'd be fun to drive.

[Someone-else]

That's a nice example to show how far we could be if the cars early last century didn't start using combustion engines. Because electric cars were already available at that time.

It remembers me a Top Gear episode about a very small city car(small enough to drive inside buildings) from the 60s, they end the show saying "This is the future, and it comes from 1968".

[TechnoMan475392]

The Peel! Go TG!!!

[FryProp]

That is pretty sweet, but even though his car isn't polluting he's probably charging his car from energy generated from coal and gas power plants (which make up around 60% of the US's primary electric energy source). So, until we can change the energy sources from coal and gas (which pollute more than cars do) to renewable energy sources or nuclear power plants his car is still furthering the carbon dioxide problem and emission pollution problem.

Also, imagine the pollution created from those 60 lead batteries (that probably need to be replaced every 3-5 yrs) if everyone drove a car built like this. But i guess this problem is somewhat addressed with th lithium ion batteries.

I am not against electric cars at all; we just need a lot more advancements until this becomes the solution to the problem. Mainly clean primary sources of energy.

[typefighter]

FWIW, Portland General Electric doesn't seem to get much energ from either coal or gas. http://www.portlandgeneral.com/about_pge/corporate_info/power_plants.aspx Hydro and nuclear seem to be top dog in those parts. Regardless, perhaps Mr. Wayland can get some of the billions promised to GM or Chrysler if they can't make a go of it. I'd buy a 1972 electric Datsun if I only had to charge it nightly.

[Renegade Knight]

Funny thing. Environmentalitsts stopped the Nuclear Plants that would have replaced coal unviable. We are just now getting back on the bandwagon.

Everthing in a battery is recycleable. Espeically if there are enough of them to make an industry out of it. There is already a market for recyling lead acide batteries.

[thefutureiselectric]

The pollution created from creating those lithium is much worse than that of the lead acid batteries. There are several types of control electronics that go into a lithium battery(to keep it from exploding), not to mention the lithium is imported from foreign countries. If we start to depend on this type of battery, we will see ourselves in the same boat that we are in now.

About 90% of a lead acid battery is recyclable, compared to almost no part of the lithium. So the problem is not addressed with lithium. I would say we haven't come close to seeing all the problems of lithium. Lead acid batteries, on the other hand, don't use control electronics. It is a technology that has been around for 100 years (kind of like electric cars). There are a few companies(Firefly is the main one that I can think of, but there are others too) that are starting to make more advances with lead acid batteries. It will be interesting to see if these work in an electric car application.

[jackiecox333]

Lowcost carbodies that absorb radiation from the ambient air to charge the smaller battery, top speed,user friendly